Continuous pickling machine



May 12, 1931. c. B. PALMER ET AL CONTINUOUS PICKLING MACHINE Original Filed Nov. 9, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet l M g INVENTOR.

7a.; a M

ATTORNEY.

c. B. PALMER ET AL CONTINUOUS PIGKLING MACHINE May 12, 1931.

Original Filed'Nov. 9, 1926 4 $heets-Sheet 2 m m m m A TTORNE Y.

May 12, 1931. c. B. PALMER ET AL CONTINUOUS PICKLING MACHINE Original Filed Nov. 9, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 s Q IyViNTOR.

A TNTORNEY.

y 931. c. B. PALMER ET AL 1,804,300

I G MACHINE Original Filed Nov. 9, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 NVgVTR.

A TTORNEY.

Patented ay 1 I OFFICE MIDDLETOWN, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO THE AMERICAN ROLLIF'G- MILL COMPANY, OF

IMIDDLETOWN, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO CONTINUOUS PICKLING- MACHINE original application fil ed November 9, i926, Serial No. 147,311.. Divided and this application filed March 30,

1929. Serial No. 351,273.

rial No. 147,311 filed Nov. 9, 1926.

It is the objectot our invention to provide in a continuous pickler of the general typenoted, for high speed and low speed operation as applied to the object carriers, for the purpose of permitting the carriers to move slowly in close relation to each other through a pickling tank, and move rapidly in spaced relation throughout the remainder of the mechanism, so as to greatly increase the capacity of a machine and tank-of given size, and at the same time permit unloading the sheets from the conveyor automatically.

It is our object to provide for a novel car-- rier for sheet metal which will be suitable for use with our machine, and to provide 'a novel sheet unloading device for use with the said carriers.

We accomplish our objects by that certain construction and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more specifically pointed out and claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a section taken through the top of the rapid-conveyor. system, showing the carrier devicein detail.

Figure 2 is a cross section showing the carrier device. I Figure 3 is adetail of the rapid conveyor chain.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of one of the hook plates.

Figure 5 is a detail chain.

of the slow conveyor Figure 6 is a plan view of theconveyor 7 chain of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a side elevation of the machine, on small scale, showing the general lay out of the device. Figure 8 is a section onthe line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a section on the line 99 of Figure Figure, 10 is a section on theline 10-10 of Figure 7 r Figure 10a is a section on the line 10a10a of Figure 11.

Figure 11 is an isometric perspective illustrating the operation of the take oil device.

The machine is naturally, where used for the pickling of sheet. metal, a very large device, having a structural framer'ork, cross members and bracket of structural steel, and no effort has been made to show fully all of the framework, and mounting devices of the various parts in any detail, other than what is believed necessary for an understanding of the operation of the invention.

The conveyor system, while it is merely the preferred of anumber of possible forms, is the simplest which we have devised. The rapid conveyor has a pair of chains with spaced notched plates, in which the rod ends. of the carriers are held, and'the carriers ride on rails with flanged wheels, so that when the notched plates of the conveyor are not faced upright so that the carrier is held in place by the force of gravity, the rails for the carrier face the support for the conveyor chains, so that the chains hold the carriers against their rails andforce them along.

The slow conveyor chains are similar to the rapid chains, buthave closely spaced openings in which the rodends of the carriers rest, and these chains are wider apart than the rapid chains, with the result that the rapid chains can deliver the carriers to the slow chains, and lift them away therefrom. I:

The rails that support the carriers thus lie outside of the path traversed by the carriers, except at the top of the machine, and the slow and rapid conveyor devices are timed so that a carrier will be delivered from one to the other without leaving any unfilled spaces.

Referring first to the framework, the same is generally indicated the standards 1,

. and lengthwisefbars 2, and braces 3. 'The' tank is indicated at 4, the top edges thereof serving to support the guiding rails, and s rocket bearings for the slow conveyor. uide rails for the carriers start near the front of the machineat extend down where they lie along the top of the edges of the tank,

and thence extend along the tank at 5a when they turn up again at .5?) at the delivery and return end of the tank. Along the top of the frame, the rails are indicated at 50. The vertical track portions and top horizontal portions overlap.

' The conveyor chains of the rapidly moving conveyor are carriedon a pair of rails which extend along the top of the framework as at 7, thence down paralleling, but spaced from the rails at 5 in the portion 7 a. The slow conveyor rails then begin and extend along the top of the tank edge as indicated at 7 b, and then stop where the carrier rails turn up at 5b. The rapid conveyor rails extend up and along above the tank at 70, and return upwardly at 7 d, after being brought downwardly to a point adjacent the end of the slow conveyor.

The sprockets for the rapid conveyor chain are indicated at 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 14a. The sprocket may be mounted in slotted bearings 15, whereby slack in the chain may be taken up.

The sprockets for the slow conveyor are shown at 16 and 17.

Referring next to the carriers, which areshown in Figures 1 and 2, it will be noted that the several rails 7 and 5c are located on the frame, at each side, by means of mounting brackets 18, secured in the frame in some suitable way. The carriers are formed of a main cross bar, in this instance a channel bar 19, to which are secured a series of plates 20, which extend away from the base of the channel at a downward slant. Mounted across the carrier by means of these plates is another cross member 21, in this instance a channel turned with the hollow face upwardly. A series of rods 22, having hookends. 23, with turned up tips 24, are secured in the channel bar 21, by means of looping the ends of the rods as at through the bar, and clamping the rods to the flange of the bar bymeansof pieces 26, also 26a.

Secured in the ends of the channel bar 19 are plates 27 in which are arranged" the projecting rods 28. On the inner ends of therods are suitable bearings for flanged wheels-'29, by means of which the carrier rides on its supporting and guiding rails.

It may be observed that the several conveyor chains are equipped with means for engaging and "actuating the carriers means 'of elements which engage the rod ends of the carriers. This permits the carriers to rock on their supporting and engaging devices, so as to assume a position consistent with their center. of gravity .The result of this is that the rods of the carriers will always maintain a position such as is shownin Figure 2,.

when the carriers are empty, thus facilitatmg lnountlng sheets in the carriers by upforwardly and fall from the carriers. This relation is maintained even in the liquor pickling bath, slnce the movement is not fast,

and the several carriers are closely bankedwith relation to each other. Thus in the tank the friction of the pickle liquor against the sheets is not detracted from because of their slanting with the force of the stream against them.

The slow conveyor chains are formed with flanged wheels 30, 30, connected by pins 31, on which pins are mounted the twin plates 32, 32, in alternate close and spaced relation, so that the bodies of the plates form the links of the chain. The rail portions 7 b are arranged to support the slow conveyor chain flanged wheels, being mounted alongeach side wall of the tank as indicated in Figure 9.

The plates are formed with triangular bodies forming shoulders 33, and the rod ends of the carrier lie between the plates abutting the shoulders, and thus are fed along. When the machine is running in timed relation, there should be a carrier between each chain plate. The rapid conveyor chain is best shown in Figures 3 and 4, in which there are a series of plain links 29, connected by pins, and spaced apart'by the plain links are the special carrier links. Thus the carrier links are formed of pairs of spaced plates 35, held to the adjoining links by pins 36, which carry the flanged wheels 37, by means of which the chain is supported.v The plates are of triangular shape with the notch 38 therein, of which notch the wall 39 is higher than the wall 40.

The rod ends of the carriers lie in the notches 38 of the plates, and when the conveyor chains are inverted as in their passage across the tank in the lower reach of their movement, the carrier rods can drop out of the notches to be picked up by the slow conveyor chains, and also the notch walls 39 may thrust down between rod'ends of the carriers, where the carrier rails turn upward- .ly at 55.

1 At the receiving end of the machine we have indicated a loading platform 41, where workmen stand, and place sheets on the carrier rods, one sheet to each carrier. This task can also be performed mechanically by any device which will select a sheet from a pile, push it against the rods, and then tip off the rear end so as to lay it upright against the rods with the lower edges in the hooks.

Referring in detail to the delivery device,

we have indicated in Figure 11, and in Fig-' ures 10 and 7, a series of conveyor belts 42,

forming a table of interspaced moving elements. The belts are mounted on rolls 43, and move in the direction of the arrows. A transverse conveyor belt at 44, receives the sheets, which are pitched outwardly and upwardly by the belts 42a, so as to fall flat on the belt 44. i

The spacing of the belts 42 is such? as to pick the sheets off of the carriers. It will be noted that-the guidesat the delivery end of the machine are formed so that the carriers will pass up from the tank, thence in a downward sloping direction and then up again to be returned for reloading.

During the downward sloping path of the carriers in this end of the machine, the edges of the sheets will strike against the belts 42 after they pass over the innermost rollers, and hence will be-forced up, so as to be' lifted from the protection of the tips of the hooks. The feeding action of the belts against the lower'edges of the sheets will then act to draw the sheets away from the carriers and feed them fiat and sidewise until they are projected. against the belt 44 and are fed to a drying oven or Whatever subsequent process is called for.

As so constructed the operation of the machine is as follows: First referringto the empty carriers, it will be noted that they are carried along in widely spaced relation by the rapidly driven conveyor chains at the top of the machine. When they reach the turn at the beginning of therails 5, the chains will become inverted and will pressthe flange wheels of the carriers against the rail portions 5, thus feeding the carriers in spaced relation down the path where they are loaded by workmen, each carrier with one sheet. I

When loaded, the carriers pass down to the lowest position of their movement, where the supporting rails thereof turn a corner and pass along the inner top edges of the tank. At this point the notched plates of the rapid conveyor chains will release the rods of thecarriers, and by properly timing the operation, the slow conveyor chains will rise and pick up the/rods, thus carrying them along the tank slowly. In the tank the carriers will be bunched and move slowly, while in the rest of their j ourneythey are spaced and moved fast. The builder can proportion his spacing and feeds to keep the tank conveyor chains full at all times.

T he rapid conveyor chains then pass up from the tank level over the sprockets 9 and 10, and thence down to the sprockets 11. Just at the sprockets 11, the rails for the carriers turn up again, as at 5b, and the slow conveyor chains pass down over their sprockets to return to the front of the machine again.

This relation of parts results in the rapid :wouldbe impractical to load and unload the carriers. Without a close spacing and slow movement in the tank, its extent would have to be far beyond practical limits in order to provide for suflicient pickling time.

The movement of the sheets slightl 'vanced from vertical position throng the pickle liquor in the tank does not involve the moving parts of the machine, but merely the rods of the carriers, in action by the acid.

It also provides an individual pickling of the sheets bya constant current of the pickle liquor passing with maximum friction across the faces, and in around the backs of the sheets.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letter's Patent is 1. In a conveyor device for sheet metal, traveling conveyor means, and carriers moved thereby, said carriers having interspaced an:

arms terminating in abutments extending in the directon of movement of said carriers to support metal sheets ahead of said arms, a feed table having interspaced elements in movmentfor moving sheets away from the carriers, said elements lying between the interspaced arms, and said conveyor means arranged to move in a path to cause said element of the table to lift the sheets away from the abutments.

- 2. In a conveyor device for sheet metal, traveling conveyor means, and carriers moved thereby, said carriers having interspaced arms terminating in abutments extending in the direction of movement of said carriers to support the edges of sheet metal, a feed table having interspaced elements in 'movement for moving sheets away from the carriers, said elements lying between the interspaced arms, and said conveyor means arranged to move in a path to cause said element of the table to lift the sheets away fromthe abutments,

said feed table elements comprising belts and driving means therefor. 1

3. In a conveyor device for sheet metal, traveling conveyor means, and carriers moved thereby, said carriers having interspaced members with sheet supporting means, a second conveyor means comprising interspaced members arranged to lie between the interspaced memberson said first mentioned conveying means, the paths of travel of said conveying means being converging, but in the same direction, whereby said second conveyor means 15 adapted to engage and remove adr a sheet from said sheet-supporting means in the same direction as but at a greater speed than the movement of said carriers.

4, In a conveyor device for sheet metal, traveling conveyor means, and carriers moved thereby, said carriers having interspaced members with sheet supporting means, a second conveyor means comprising interspaced members arranged to lie between the inter spaced members on said first mentioned c0nveying means, the paths of travel of said conveying means being converging, but in the same direction, whereby said second conveyor means is' adapted, to engage and remove a sheet from said sheet-supporting means; said second conveyor means traveling at a greater speed than said first conveyor means.

5. In a conveyor device for a continuous sheet metal pickler, carries each having a plurality of depending arms with forwardly turned-up lower ends forming sheet-supporting abutments, said arms shaped to support a sheet in an upright position tilted back ward at an angle to the vertical and carried in advance of said arms, whereby said sheet may be carried on said arms through a tank of pickle liquor, conveying means to engage and move said carriers, and sheet delivery means, operative between said arms, to raise the lower edge of said sheet above said abutments during the continuous motion of said carrier, and then move said lower edge more means.

rapidly ahead in the direction of travel of said carrier to cause said sheet to leave said arms and fall flat on said sheet delivery CHARLES B. PALMER. KRIS/HAN KRONBORG. 

